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Hispanic consumers Evelyn (above) and Yoel (on home page) are confronted by the Conill team, reminded via video of their critical views on the Camry and invited to reconsider their preconceived notions by taking a test spin with a professional driver.
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Toyota Gets Real in Latino-targeted Camry TV Spots
July 21, 2008
By Della de Lafuente
NEW YORK It's a classic case of perception versus reality.
In a pair of unscripted TV spots breaking today (July 21), Toyota is challenging Hispanic consumers who have a need for speed and performance to test drive the 2009 Camry with a professional driver and rethink their preconceived notions.
The TV ads, which are airing via mun2, Telemundo, Univision and various Hispanic sports networks, are an extension of the automaker's ongoing "Camry-ality" marketing effort that began two years ago to coincide with the Camry's redesign.
A print, online, viral and a Web microsite will support and are planned for launch in September. Saatchi & Saatchi's Hispanic shop Conill Advertising, Los Angeles, handled creative, media buying and planning duties.
Taking a page from reality TV's ambush makeover format, Hispanics who earlier participated in consumer research sessions about the Camry -- and who said they were unimpressed by, or unaware of, the vehicle's power and performance -- were later visited at their homes, reminded of their critical comments [shown to them on video] and invited to take a spin in the vehicle with a professional driver.
"Hispanic consumers’ impressions of Camry’s performance lagged behind those of its stellar design and innovation," said Pablo Buffagni, svp and chief creative officer, Conill Advertising. "The best way to show off the 2009 Camry was to have people experience it for themselves -- and to make the reality their new perception."
Employing the theme, "It’s never too late to change your mind," the unscripted reactions are captured via hidden cameras of Hispanic focus group members who agree to go on the test spin with the professional driver.
After a high-speed run around the track that ends in a dramatic 360-degree turn, a Hispanic male who earlier had described the Camry as "a turtle" is caught on camera changing his tune, saying: "I should have said 'the Toyota Camry is a turbo turtle,'" says Buffagni.
"It's probably the first time that you'll see people talking really naturally in Hispanic TV because we let them speak in English and in Spanish," he added. "The spontaneous factor is the main thing behind their natural reactions."
The initial "Camry-ality" campaign used hidden cameras to get the enthusiastic reactions of new car buyers with the most recent effort focusing on consumers who weren't convinced that the Camry could offer both power and performance, Buffagni said.
The multiplatform effort is aimed largely at bilingual Hispanics, ages 18-34, who have eyed the Camry as an entry into the brand, but were on the fence about the vehicle, per Conill.
Print and online promotions will also feature consumers who have changed their views about the Camry while showcasing the vehicle's power and performance, per Conill.
The microsite, which is being created by Conill, will feature a Web navigation system that drives like a car with a stick shift to maneuver "and go back in reverse to change your mind," Buffagni noted.
Creative advertising, behind-the-scenes videos and three online-only spots will be featured on the microsite.
A viral effort will allow microsite users to send e-mail messages to friends inviting them to take back or change their views about any mistakes they've made in the past, per the Hispanic ad shop.
In keeping with its reality-based format, the Camry is also a sponsor of the mun2 reality series, "The Chicas Project," which follows two young Latinas as they explore the duality of being Hispanic and American.
Toyota's ad spending for the Camry in Spanish-language network and cable TV has reached $6 million through May 2008 with the ad spend totaling $15 million in 2007, up from $13 million in 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
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